Just Say No!

Calvin has schoolaphobia

           

What scares me the most is just about anything horror related. I can’t watch a scary movie to save my life and I can’t go through a haunted house without almost crying. I haven’t gone to anything “haunted” since I was about seven years old. That was enough for me.

            The last time I was at a Halloween Haunt Attraction was many years ago. There was a Haunted Barn and a Hayride. Before you ask, it was not KimGlo or Snyder’s Family Farm as it is now called. It was in Newmarket and I was there with my family and my aunt and cousins. We went through the Haunted Barn and I hid in my Dad’s arm the entire time except for when a man popped out of a coffin. My Mom screamed so loudly that the “actor” came out of role and asked her if she was okay. He thought she was having a heart attack. So I guess that I get my semi-phobia from my Mom.
            Even when I was younger and was out Trick-or-Treating, I refused to go to the houses that were really dark or had spooky music. My Dad remembers that when I was almost three and my brother was four we wouldn’t go out because the man across the street was playing creepy music. My Dad got us out the door and over to the neighbor's house but that was enough for us. We went home before the crying started. I have had a fear of horror since I was very young.
            I am fine with historical ghosts and so called “encounters” but I can’t stand anything fake that has people jumping out at me. I hate it when I when I am in the basement of my house and I have to turn off the lights to go upstairs. I run as fast as I can to escape the darkness. I hate it when I’m walking alone at night and I feel someone’s eyes on the back of my neck but there’s no one there. I went through Haunted Hall in grade nine and I was freaking out the entire time. Weirdly enough, I am now a part of Haunted Hall so I guess I’m okay with scaring other people. Some people get their thrills through scares but I much prefer a good rollercoaster. That’s enough of an adrenaline rush for me! As a last note, I have learned one important coping mechanism over the past few years: just say no!! I wish you the best of luck dealing with your own phobias. ~Rachel

A Food Fetish

Christmas 1996

   
 The love of my life is food. Sounds depressing, right? It’s not. Food has always been a part of my life. I learned how to cook in the kitchen of my house around thirteen years ago. Yes, that would have made me three years old. I don’t only love to eat but I love the smell, the texture, the look and the history surrounding food. Food at my house is not only about eating. It is a way to connect as a family. When I get home from a hard practice, I smell spices and flavours as soon as I walk through the door. When we sit down to eat, we talk about our days and don’t rush through the food. We savour it.
            Coming from my cookie- making family, people assume that I love deserts but they couldn’t be more wrong. I love the main course of a meal. I appreciate all the spices and the processes to make the food. Nothing is better than cutting up vegetables and putting them in the wok with some olive oil and seasoning.

 The part of my brain that food stimulates is different. Sports activate adrenaline and passion, music promotes tranquility and harmony, and cooking accesses culture and global differences. When I cook, I think about where the foods or spice palates originated from. I consider how each ingredient is made and the process by which it is grown. I think about organic versus non-organic, the 100 mile diet, low-fat versus high-fat and I think about how fortunate I am to be able to cook in my kitchen with all my ingredients readily at my fingertips.

In addition to cooking, I also enjoy reading about food and different recipes that other chefs use. My favourite chef is Sam Stern. You have probably never heard of him. He is a teen chef from Britain and he is a complete genius. He published his first book when he was fourteen years old and he has written four more since. I highly recommend his cookbooks!

I find that when I’m stressed, I like to cook. It is very satisfying to throw some ingredients into a pot and to take out a fully fused meal. I like to cook whenever I have the chance which at the moment is rare because of my busy schedule but I try to cook at least once a week. You should try it. It relieves stress, lets you explore alternate passions and lets you appreciate how fortunate you are to live in Canada. Cooking is an amazing past-time.

Adieu for now class. ~Rachel

Gossip, Rudeness, and Bad Phrases: These Are What Peeve Me Off!

          

  I do not have a pet peeve that drives me completely up the wall but I consider some peoples habits as annoying and not needed. First off, I hate it when people feel the need to gossip behind your back. Why? I just don’t get it. If you nave something to say, say it to the person’s face. Not the person who sits next to their best friend in math class. And if the thing you are feeling is so horrible, just don’t say it! Keep the comments to yourself and everyone will be much happier. Secondly, I strongly dislike it when you’re trying to pay attention say during class or in a movie and there is someone who is infernally talking behind you! In class, there are other people trying to learn so please be quite. I a movie theatre, you paid $10 to watch the movie and you’re talking?? What is the point of you being here?? It may sound harsh but for me proper respect and common courtesy is a necessary part of life and when they are not given it can make me slightly peeved. Lastly, a comment I don’t like at all is the phrase “that was so blonde”. I’m blonde and I don’t consider my self to be a slouch in the academics department. I may have blonde hair but I can continue a conversation and add valuable information to a discussion. The colour of ones hair should not dictate their potential brain capacity. I wish that comments like that would just disappear and no one would be judged by the way they look. These are my pet peeves! And one more thing, where on earth did the phrase pet peeve come from??

A Reading Life

November 1996 

            A thing in this world that really interests me is reading. Reading is a way to become someone else without leaving your couch or chair. It allows me to escape into the world of another to explore new circumstances without worrying about being shot by the South or captured by pirates. It allows me to delve into history and explore the world of pure fantasy. Where else can you cry and laugh all in the same sentence? The answer: a book.

Books are a huge part of my life and not only because my Mom was an English teacher and my Dad is a huge reader. Books have always been a way for my family to connect. When I was younger, we always read aloud at the dinner table as a family. I remember reading The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Parks, many Richard Peck books, and best of all the seven Harry Potter books. My family has always made time to read from when I was really little. There is a very cute photo of me sitting on the couch “reading” when I was only two years old. I can honestly say that I enjoy reading now as much as I did when I was little and when I was growing up. Reading has always been a huge part of my life!

Just recently I finished the book Juliet by Anne Fortier. As the title suggests, it is based on the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, but it contains an element of mystery regarding how the story actually ended and if the remains of the star-crossed lovers are still out there to be discovered. It also explores the idea that there are reincarnations of Romeo and Juliet that appear all over history and in our daily lives. Think about it. Do you know a couple who aren't supposed to be together but keep their relationship alive because it feels right to them? This couple is in the same situation in which the historic lovers found themselves. It was a wonderful book and I encourage you all to read it! The next books on my shelf are The Help by Kathryn Stockett and This Dark Endeavour: The Apprentice of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel. I am excited to delve into these adventures.

Tah tah Class, I’m off to read a book! ~Rach

Hallowe'en!



Tinkerbell-2006



For me, it's not going back to one moment but to one day every year. I am a lover of Hallowe’en, not the spooky, scary aspect but the dressing up and trick-or-treating part. From as far back as I can remember, Hallowe’en has always been fun and exciting. There was always something about that night that holds the child in all of us. My favourite part was not the candy; I'd always save it and never end up eating it, but I loved finding and carving pumpkins, roasting the seeds, decorating the house and, most of all, making and wearing the costumes. My Dad has made my Hallowe’en costumes for years. My Dad learned to sew from his father and, while I was growing up, he taught me how to use the same sewing machine he was taught on. The first time my Dad made a costume for me was when I was pre-school. He made me a Maid Marion costume and Erich had a matching Robin Hood outfit. My Mom says we were cute! In my past 16 years, I have had home-made costumes of a unicorn, a princess, a mystery princess, a witch, the goddess Athena, Tinkerbell and one of the Three Musketeers (Dartagnan, to be exact). My parents have had a part in all of my Hallowe’en costumes even if they have not made them directly. They help with makeup, hair and good accessories to complement the costume. Hallowe’en costumes and the entire season are so amazing to me. Hallowe’en is the best time of year because you can be whoever you want to be, you can accept strangers’ candy without risk of kidnapping, you can watch fall leaves change colour, you can carve pumpkins and eat the seeds, and, most of all, you get to be the child that's inside all of us but, like ghosts and goblins, only comes out once a year. ~Rach



Unicorn-2000